The version we made when I was raising kids was very much like the one I found for you on Cooks.com. You buy a package of cabbage and a package of ramen noodle soup. The noodles are broken up into the cabbage, and a dressing is made with the seasoning packet. It was a crowd pleaser, but these days I prefer a fresher salad, so I added just about every vegetable I had in the bin. Bell peppers, carrots and bean sprouts all went into the bowl. As I poached a few chicken breasts in garlic and chicken broth, I combined sesame oil, grape seed oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, chili garlic sauce, honey and ginger in a jar and shook it like crazy to combine. If you aren’t familiar with poaching, this tutorial from thekitchn will get you started, or just follow my directions below.

Don’t be intimidated by the ingredient list, okay? It’s all chop and drop, and shake it up in a jar. All that chopping and dropping and salad dressing making is a great work out for your arms! I sliced the chicken and plated it on the side, but you could just as easily cube it and toss it into the mix. Maybe even skip the chicken, and make it a side for your next barbecue. This Asian cabbage salad can stand on it’s own with the pile of veggies I threw into the bowl. There you are! My classic Asian cabbage salad. If you haven’t tried one yet, skip the version I made in my earlier days of cooking, and make this. It’s anything but ho-hum. ~Kristi

Serves 4

Asian Salad with Poached Chicken

Shake It Up!
If you don't want to make your own dressing, or if you are missing ingredients for the dressing and don't want to buy them, Newman's Own makes a Sesame Ginger vinaigrette that is amazing. It makes a wonderful marinade for chicken and seafood too.

Heat a large saucepan over high heat with onion, garlic, ginger, chicken broth, water and soy sauce. Reduce heat to medium low and add chicken breasts. Cover pan and simmer for 15 - 25 minutes until chicken is no longer pink in the middle.

Combine cabbage, carrots, bean sprouts, peppers, onion and cilantro in a large bowl.